Island



J. CLOUGH.- 2 Shyeets-Sheet Reclining Chair.

No. 228,869. Patented June 15,1880.

lLPiTERs; FHOTO-UfHOGIAPfiER. WASNXNGYON. D. c.

J, OLOUGH' ZShe'ets-Sheet 2.

Reclining Chair.

No. 228,869 Patented June 15,1880.

\NITN ESSES N-PEI'ERS PHOTO-UTMOGRAFNER, WASHINGTON, D. c.

' chairs in which the position UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE..-

JOSEPH GLOUGH, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

' RECLINING-CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,869, dated June 15,1880.

.Application filed July 7. 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH CLOUGH, of thecity and county of Providence, and State of Rhode Island, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Reclining-Chairs; and I hereby declarethat the following is a full,- olear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification.-

Figure l is a front view of my improved reclining-chair. Fig. 2 is aside view of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, showing the parts insolid lines in the reclining position and in broken lines in the sittingposition. Fig. 4. shows the hinge or pivot on which the back swings, andFig. 5 the sliding hinge by which the back and sliding seat areconnected.

This invention has reference to recliningcan be readily changed from asitting to a reclining position, and vice versa, by the person sittingin the chair or by an attendant, when desired. Such chairs arepeculiarly well adapted for barbers chairs, but can be used forrailroad-cars and all other purposes where reclining-chairs are desired.

The invention consists in the peculiar and novel arrangement of leversby which the seat, the back, and the leg-rest are connected by means oflevers, so as to operate simultaneously in the desired direction, andare restrained in their motion by a coiled spring or springs.

The invention further consists in the peculiar arrangement of anautomatic adjustable spring-pressed foot-rest, and in thepeculiarlyconstructed hinge on which the back is pivoted, all of whichwill be more fully set forth hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, AA are the two sides of a chair, which are firmlysecured by bolts to the frame B. a is the hinged back of the chair. I)is the sliding seat. 0 is the leg-rest, and d the foot-rest.

- The back a is connected with the sliding. seat I) by means of aT-bolt, 1, sliding in the slot of the plate 2, so that in all positions00- cupied by the back and seat the joint between the back and seat isalways closed and the clothii'ig of the occupant is not liable to getinto this joint.

Another advantage in this arrangement is, that the sliding seat movesalways in the same plane, and no part of the same is either raised orlowered in changing its position.

The leg-rest is hinged to the sliding seat by ordinary hinges, and thefoot-rest is pivoted to the lower end of the leg rest. In areclining-chair it has always been difficult to secure a foot-rest thatcan automatically adjust itself to the length of the legs of theoccupant, and also will allow of such changes-in the position of thefeet as will conduce to perfect rest.

To accomplish this I construct my foot-rest of the arms (I, pivoted tothe lower part of the leg-rest, and unite the two arms by the crossbar(1, preferably rounded on top, and made to conform somewhat to the shapeof the boots or shoes, so as to give a better rest to the same and toprevent the sliding of the feet on the rest. The rod (1 forming thepivot on which the foot-rest is hinged, l surround with two spiralsprings, one end being fixed to the rod and the other ends to the arm d.The action,

of these springs holds the foot-rest against the leg-rest, and thecross-bar d, whenin the position shown in Fig. 2, can be reached by aperson with very short legs, and can be pushed into any desired positionagainst the resistant pressure of the springs to suit the length of thelegs of any person. As thelegsrestagainst the leg-rest the feet requirebut little support, and the pressure of the springs, by giving anelastic support to the feet, secures a pleasant yielding support, moreagreeable and more restful than a rigid support can be.

The system of levers by means of which the foot-rest and sliding seatare connected and operated consists of apair of the bell-crank levers 6,having the short arm f at their upin broken lines in Fig. 3 the pivotalpoint g, where the link g is connected with the legrest, will be on aline or within a line drawn from the hinge connecting the leg-rest withthe seat to the pivot e, and in this position the lower end of the levere is prevented from rising until the foot-rest is moved slightly outward.

If desired, the point g may be made to eX- tend farther from theleg-rest, and the whole operation of the chair may be controlled by thefoot or leg rest. In arailroad-seat or other reclining-chair this wouldbe desirable; but in a barbers chairI prefer to use thelevers as shownin the drawings, and control their action by the coiled spring h,secured to the rear portion of the frame B and to a stud on the arm f ofthe bell-crank lever, which arm is placed at such an angle that when thechair is in the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 3 then the strainon the spring h is on a line with the fulcrum of the bell-crank lever,and when in the position shown in solid lines in the same figure,thenthe tension on the springs h (two of which are usually employed, one oneach side) will support the bell-crank lever in the position shown andall parts connected with the same. The seat and back, being united bythe peculiar sliding connection shown in Fig. 5, are also operated bythe bellcrank lever e, the seat having the curved arm 1' rigidly securedthereto, which arm t, extending downward, is connected with thebellcrank lever at l by the link It, and as soon as the spring h drawsin the short arm and eX- tends the long arm of the bell-crank lever theseat is drawn forward by the link until the arm 1' rests against thebell-crank lever, and thus forms a stop, allparts being firmly held inthis position by the springs h h.

If no leg or foot rest is desired then the bellcrank lever a may stop atthe place Z, where the link It is connected with the same, and thesprings h h will operate and hold the sliding seat and the back the sameas if the leg-rest were secured and operated. In many cases thisconstruction is preferable for barbers chairs, as the usual foot-supportmay be used.

It will be observed that this improved chair is limited to twopositions, in each of which it is firmly locked and held by the springsh h; that there are no pawls, ratchet, or other devices that have to bemanipulated, but that the occupant can move from one position to theother as readily as he can move any part of his body. He does not haveto learn the use of secret devices by which he may wind himself up ordown, but at once, without previous experience, can operate the chair atwill, and so readily that it almost seems to be operated by his will.

Although there are only two fixed positions at which the parts arefirmly locked, intermediate positions may be readily retained by alittle exertion, and the locked reclining position may be much fartherextended, so as to approach a couch more nearly than is indicated in thedrawings.

The hinge on which the back is pivoted is shown in Fig. 4, and consistsof a metal slide in which a pin provided with a shoulder turns. Theslide m can be withdrawn and the back removed when the chair is to betaken apart,

and when connected the back is so firmly secured that the sides arefirmly braced by the same.

These chairs are simple and substantial in construction, and areentirely automatic in their operation, and not liable to get out oforder.

The head-rest shown in the several figures is supported on a curved stemwhich slides in a socket extending from the back of the chai arranged sothat thehead-rest is movable in a line obliquely to the vertical line ofthe back, intersecting the back at or near the top of the back, so thatthe head-rest will support the head of a person in any position, in thesame manner as the head-rest shown and described in Patent No. 192,898,issued to me July 10, 1877.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with a leg-rest, of pivoted orhinged foot-rest and springs connected with the pivotal bar forreceiving the pressure exerted upon the foot-rest, and thereby enablingthe latter to serve as a yielding footsupport, substantially as setforth.

2. In a reclining-chair, the combination, with the chair, of a leg-restprovided with a foot-rest pivoted to the legrest, and arranged asdescribed, to give ayielding support to the feet, as described.

8. In a reclining-chair, the combination, with the hinged back andsliding seat, of the bell-crank levers e f, the springs h, and the link75, connecting the bell-crank lever with the seat, arranged to hold theseat and back in a sittingand reclining position, as described.

4. In a reclining chair, the combination, with a sliding seat, of abell-crank lever con nected with the seat by means substantially asdescribed, and a spiral spring connected with the bell-crank lever,substantially in the manner described, so as to automatically lock theseat, as described.

5. The combination, with the seat of achair and the hinged leg-rest, ot'the bell-crank lever e j", link g, and the spring it, connected with theshort arm 01' the bell-crank, and arranged to hold the leg-rest in araised position, as de' scribed.

JOSEPH OLOUGH.

Witnesses JOSEPH A. MILLER, JosEPH A. MILLER, Jr.

